Why do pubs make their staff wear uniforms? If anything signals corporate, chain-like soullesness, it’s three young people dressed in faded polo shirts glowering from behind a faux-wood bar-style beverage service area.
If I want that, I’ll go to McDonalds.
My favourite pubs have slightly too many people behind the bar, dressed in their own clothes, looking relaxed and happy.
It’s time to say no to battery farmed bar staff and go free range.
Bailey
4 replies on “Uniformed bar staff”
I have a theory that the reason big chain pubs need uniforms is due to the high staff turnovers. Without them the employees wouldn’t be too sure whether or not the weird looking Polish guy ought to be behind the bar.
My favourite pubs are the ones where you actually recognise and can build friendships with the barworkers.
Slightly off topic, I think a uniform t-shirt for voluntary staff at beer festivals is a good idea for the reason mentioned above. We didn’t have these at Greenwich and it wasn’t too easy to single out colleagues amongst a crowd of punters.
My first decision as manager of our place: tell the staff they didn’t need to dress in black anymore. Needless to say, I agree.
Of course, it adds a new criteria to bar staff selection – they need to have good dress sense.
When I think of uniformed bar staff, I can only think of the movie Office Space. “Now, it’s up to you whether or not you want to just do the bare minimum. Well, like Brian, for example, has 37 pieces of flair. And a terrific smile.”
Come the revolution everybody will be in a uniform!